


Thief of The Living Dead

by Strideshitt



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, possible slash later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-19 21:01:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9460271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strideshitt/pseuds/Strideshitt
Summary: Lupin and his gang find themselves close tosplit up as sudden claims of a weird virus spread around Japan. Turns out being sneaky and a good disguise can't save you from every kind of danger.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I wouldn't start a new fanfic, that it wasn't worth it, that I have too much going on in real life to deal with this. And yet... here we are.  
> At least I'm aggressively passionate for zombies. God I love zombies.  
> Also, clearly the title is because every God forsaken thing in the zombie genre needs to have some undead thing or whatever. It's a law.

Lupin is leaning back on one of the two chairs filling the small room, a position close to one Jigen would often be seen in. A cigarette dangles from his lips, and his eyebrows are furrowed ever so slightly as if in deep thought. The television flickers across the room, with a news story muted. The jist is on the screen anyway, no need to hear some boring news personality drone on in a tone too happy for the story they're telling you. Right now the story is about supposed riots starting in isolated areas of Japan, though no one knows why or what they're rioting over. This information seems a little strange to the thief and while hes curious to learn more, he doesn't bother moving to reach for the remote on the table just a foot or three in front of him. Not to sound lazy, but it seemed like too much work. Asking his partner is out too since Jigen, laying on a couch to Lupin's left, is passed out with a hat pulled over his face. 

The images on screen are slightly odd, to say the least. At first they were just showing what appeared to be crazed rioters attacking a few officers, but after a cut it appeared a few of the police had joined in on the rioting. Blood was smeared across all of their faces, hands, clothes, everything. It was a little concerning to say the least. The banner over the image announces theres "Indiscriminate Violence At Riots", although that headline seems pretty obvious with the accompanied footage. 

Finally, as more people join the crowds of attacker, Lupin gets curious enough to reach for the remote. He unmutes the television with a click of a button and keeps the remote in his hand. 

"-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insists Japan will not declare a state of emergency due to the events in Hiraizumi, although he urges people in the city and surrounding areas to evacuate as soon as possible to avoid potential danger. Authorities tell us they expect the situation to be under control within the next 72 hours, although locals seem to disagree." 

The shot cuts to that of a man in front of what appears to be an office complex, although his clothes are too casual for him to be a worker there. Lupin finds himself losing interest quickly already. Why are they doing some live interview of a man not even involved in the riots? The least they could do would be interview someone in charge of the police. He idly wondered what the good old Inspector Zenigata thought of this incident, if he even knew it was going on. Lupin had doubts the man knew much outside of thief himself. Sometimes Zenigata seemed so dedicated Lupin found himself wondering if the inspector did anything but sit at a desk all day thinking about him. 

"I think all the rioters are just desperate for attention. They don't have a cause or anything." The man on the television screen nasally said, offering little to no substance to the news story. The little "live" in the corner made Lupin certain no one else was availible in the nearby area to talk to, otherwise they'd have someone more... qualified talking about the subject. 

Lupin was just about to mute the TV again and go back to sitting in silence when a rioter practically pounced on the man that had been talking only seconds ago. 

"Holy shit!" The cameraman gasped, the whole screen shaking as the man presumably moved away from the attacker in surprise. 

"Crap, Jigen, did you see that?" Lupin's question was answered only with the soft sound of the other mans relaxed breathing. "Jigen?" More silence. Lupin rolled his eyes, and then threw the television remote in the direction of his friend. 

Jigen was up and alert almost a split second after the remote collided with his side, hand already grasped on the gun in his belt tightly. "What is it?" The man's tone was urgent as if he was expecting some kind of raid, although his voice still sounded like he had just been woken up. 

"Morning sleeping beauty." Lupin teased, earning an angry huff from the gunman. 

"Oh, you're just being a dick again aren't you?" Jigen said, visibly relaxing and moving his hand away from the magnum. 

"No. Something weirds happening on the news." 

"Weird? What, did the weather lady's shirt come undone again?" Jigen leaned back against the sofa once more, and turned his attention to the TV screen where a "Sorry, Technical Difficulties" message was being displayed.

"Nah, she started wearing t-shirts after the third time, remember?" Lupin's tone had an odd hint of nostalgia to it as he thought of the weather lady, but quickly remembered what as going on. "Some dude just got murdered on live TV." 

Jigen whistled. "Bet that won't be showing up on any highlight reels. What, did someone stab an anchorman?" 

"Some riots are happening down in Hiraizumi, and they must be getting pretty violent from what I saw. One of 'em ran up and jumped on some poor stiff they were interviewing." 

"Riots?" Jigen didn't sound very interested anymore. He shrugged. "Thought everyone got violent during a riot."

"Yeah, well usually the cops don't join in after getting pounced on." Lupin said as a retort. 

"Must be a pretty good cause then. What is it, save the tunas?" 

Lupin rolled his eyes at the gunman's response. "There isn't a cause." 

"Oh, rioting without a cause? Very 50s." Jigen returned to his previous position. "Wake me up again when something interesting happens."

Lupin frowned. "At least give me back the remote."

"Nah, think I'll keep it." 

"Go ahead. I'll find something bigger to throw at you next time." 

Jigen mumbled something inaudible under his breath, but tossed the remote back to the thief anyway. 

"Thanks babe." Lupin said, and then immediately beginning to flip through the television channels.

"What are you doing? Don't wanna hear the rest of the news story?" Jigen asked, peeking his eyes out from under the brim of his hat. 

"Not on that channel. A story this big is bound to be everywhere already." Lupin stopped on a seperate station, with footage of people attacking and being attacked similar to the other station being played. This time the screen read 'More Rioters Appear in Hiraizumi'. "See?" 

Jigen stares at the TV as if uninterested, but a twitch in his expression as people on screen are attacked reveals how he must really feel about all of this. 

"Where do you think the others are?" Lupin suddenly asks.

"Who? Fujiko and Goemon? Beats me. Think Fujiko said she was here in Tokyo though, didn't she?" Jigen's answer comes distant, his focus still firmly on the news. 

"Think we should call her?" 

Jigen shrugs. "Why? You already said yourself this story is probably everwhere. She knows by now. S'not like you're her baby sitter or anything." 

"You're right..." Lupin said before falling silent once more. This time however he was visibly distraught, something rather uncharacteristic of the thief. He wasn't opposed to showing emotions of course, but it was rare for the ones he did show to be so legitimate. 

Jigen notices the thief's discomfort and sighs. "Just go call her." 

"Thanks Jigen dear." Lupin immediately perks up, and then makes his way to the phone quickly. 

"Why act like you need my permission to talk to that broad all of a sudden anyway..." Jigen grumbles to himself, placing a cigarette between his scowling lips. 

"Fujicakes~" Lupin's voice rang out in the normal annoying way it does whenever he talked to the woman. Seemed the habit crossed over to phone conversations too. "Have you heard the news yet? Wait-" Lupin's tone shifts quickly from high and happy to concerned and confused. "slow down. You're talking too fast.... Where are you, it's really loud there." 

Jigen sighs and stands from the couch, crushing his unlit cigarette in the ashtray and then making his way ovee to where Lupin was on the phone. "Where is she?" The gunman asks, voice quiet so Fujiko on the other end of the line wouldn't be able to hear him talk. 

Lupin places his hand over the receiver, looking at Jigen with furrowed brows. "I don't know she's- hey!" 

Jigen holds the phone to his ear, hand out to swat away Lupin's attempts to take it back from him. "Hey, Fujiko, where in the hell are you?" 

There's silence in the room save for the low volume of the television, and Lupin soon becomes annoyed by the lack of response. "Did she tell you? Probably hung up because you're rude. Gimme back the phone-" 

"She's there." Jigen says, voice grim and mouth pressed in a thin line as he sets the phone down. 

"What? Where?" Lupin asked in complete frustration. 

"She's in Hiraizumi." 

Lupin frowned at this information, realizing it meant that Fujiko was, most likely, in some sort of danger after all. He sighed, and then made his way back to the living area and plopped back down in the chair he had been sitting in prior. Jigen followed without saying a word. 

Lupin and Jigen sat in the small living room, both in silence as the muted TV flashed horrifying image after horrifying image of the state of northern Japan. 

"It's only a 5 hour drive." Lupin murmurs, just loud enough for the other man to hear. 

Jigen snorts, arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, and? The towns quarantined, or did you forget that? We'd have a hell of a time getting in, and it'd be harder to get out. Face it Lupin, it'd make more sense just for her to hide wherever she's staying. If it is as dangerous as they say it is we'd have more trouble than-" 

"Than what?" Lupin narrows his eyes at his friend. 

"Than I'd want to deal with for that broad." Jigen says, finishing his thought. 

"Fuck, Jigen, I know you don't like her but would you really just let her friggin' die?" 

"Of course not, that's not what I'm saying." Lupin glares, causing Jigen to sigh and continue. "Look man, this shit will probably blow over in a day or two so I don't see why we should march in while shits hitting the fan. As long as she doesn't do something stupid she won't get hurt." 

"I'm not just going to let Fujiko stay there alone." The thief huffs.

Jigen lets out an annoyed sigh. "She'll be fine." 

"She's scared." 

"So?" 

"So? I'm not just going to leave her as a damsel in distress. I need to rescue my princess from her castle!" Lupin throws his hands together dramatically, and Jigen rolls his eyes at the mans theatrics. "Imagine how romantic it'd be, i come in on my white horse right as soon as the rioters break through Fujiko's door. She screams, but alas she fears there's no hope! And then I swoop in and rescue her." Lupin makes a kissy face at the air, looking a lot like a fish going after food. "Oh Lupin," He cooes in a high pitched voice, obviously meant to be Fujiko. "My hero!" 

Jigen can hardly contain his smile at the other man's ridiculous behavior, watching in amusement as Lupin throws his arms around himself and makes kissing noises. "Sure buddy, that's exactly how it'll go." 

"I know." Lupin grins, although he clearly caught on to the sarcasm in the gunman's voice. "Won't it be romantic, Jigen? Maybe if you're lucky you'll find yourself a scared lady too." 

Jigen snorts in response to the other man's comment. "Mhm, a girl, just what I need. Just like a need a broken rib." 

Lupin waves his hand at Jigen in a dismissive fashion. "You're just grumpy because no hot girl is begging you to save her."

"Last time I checked you were in the same boat." 

"Fujiko may not be here begging me right now, but I can tell she's thinking about me." Lupin said. 

"Right." Jigen pulls out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "Are you seriously going to go all the way to Hiraizumi to get her?" 

"Me? No, Jigen, WE'RE going to get her." 

Jigen scoffs. "I'm fine with you making a dumbass out of yourself, but what exactly makes you think I want to tag along for this?"

"Oh come on, it's for Fujiko." Lupin half whines.

"That's my point. She could just be planning to steal our car or something. Look, Lupin, I'm not saying I don't trust her, but I don't trust that bitch. When was the last time she didn't stab us in the back?" Jigen said, frowning. 

"I know you two don't see eye to eye all the time-"

"Ever."

"But she's still part of the gang. C'mon man, you know Fujiko isn't all bad." 

Jigen frowned, but he knew Lupin wasn't entirely wrong. Hell, sometimes Jigen would even find himself even thinking of Fujiko as an annoying little sister. But he couldn't admit that outloud, not to Lupin. Or Fujiko herself. Or anyone, for that matter. He had a reputation to keep up afterall. "You're right, Fujiko isn't all bad. Just ninety-nine percent bad." 

Lupin sighs. "Christ you're as stubborn as a mule. Don't make me do this alone, come on man. Think of it, Jigen, if you do come you can see just how exaggerated the news is making this, and you can say 'I told you so' and everything! Hell, I'll buy your cigarettes for a month."

"Only a month?" Jigen said. 

"You smoke more than a chimney. I want to do you a favor, not go broke." 

Jigen snorts at the joke. "If Fujiko's not in trouble she'll be pissed when we show up." 

"But if she is in trouble she might give us a kiss!" Lupin's face betrayed the fact he was thinking of receiving a little more than a kiss.

"Ugh, I'll pass. You can have mine." Jigen frowned, disgust clearly visible at the brief thought of getting a kiss from Fujiko. Lupin, however, had a look the completely opposite from the gunman. 

"So, you're gonna help me?" Lupin asked, snapping out of his goofy stupor. 

Jigen shrugged half heartedly. "I guess. I've helped you do shit more stupid than this, though nothing comes to mind right now..." 

"Then we should leave soon. I can't bear the thought of Fujiko suffering without me." Lupin said, and then grinned slyly. "Plus if we leave now you won't have time to change your mind." The thief added quickly. 

Jigen rolled his eyes, although the other man couldn't see the action under his hat. "I can change my mind anywhere."

"Then I'll just have to remember to turn the child locks on. Don't want you hopping out in the middle of our road trip!" Lupin said with a smile. 

"Mhm. Keep talking and I might just go ahewd and change my mind right now..." 

"Come on Jigen dear I'm just teasing!" Lupin practically whined at the gunman. 

Jigen scoffed. "Yeah whatever you say, boss. So, are we leaving now or did you want to wait until everyones in real danger?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired all the time forever

Fujiko felt like she was going to be sick. She stood hiding in the small closet of a cheap motel room, somewhere she'd never be caught dead at under normal circumstances. But this situation wasn't normal at all, and it wasn't like she had intentionally and willingly decided to stay at this place. No, it had just been the closest building when she came across... the rioters. That title that had been given to them by the media didn't seem accurate in the slightest, Fujiko thought with a mental scoff. They were all bloody, some with more visible wounds than others, and they all seemed to shuffle rather than actually walk. It bothered her, the whole thing did. The people outside seemed more like... well, like zombies if movies were any good reference. 

"Ugh, Lupin..." The female thief muttered behind her hand. "You better come and save me." 

The closet she was currently hiding in was tight, with a shelf so low she was practically bent in half just to fit. There was no light inside of it, but thanks to the door she could see a litte of her surroundings which turned out to be a bad thing. The floor had an assortment of odd stains, and something was moving in the corner. All in all it was disgusting, and if it weren't for the sound of banging on the windows of the room Fujiko would have already ran away in fear and sickness. But, as everything stood, she was stuck. 

"Ugh..." Fujiko closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the sounds and smells of where she was. She briefly considered just getting herself out of this mess, but realized quickly that was improbable. She had no car nearby, having left it in favor of running in a panic like the rest of the people in the area had when they realized one man was eating another man's face in the most literal of ways. Hell, that wouldn't have been a problem if she had just had her gun with her. Another mistake on her part. 

"Fuck." She sighed as quietly as possible. She didn't even want to be in Hiraizumi, it was small and irrelevant in her opinion, but Goemon had insisted he wanted to go there for some kind of training and Fujiko foolishly agreed to take him. Next time the samurai asked for anything she wouldn't agree to it. 

"Wait, Goemon!" Fujiko gasped, hands coming off of her face as she scrambled to grab her cell phone. Her hands were shaking as she typed in the number with slight issue. "Please, Goemon, tell me you have your phone so you can get me the hell out of here." 

The phone let out it's telltale tone for connecting, and Fujiko felt like crying in relief when she heard a soft click, indicating someone had picked up on the other end. 

"Ishikawa." Came the sound of a deep voice. 

"Goemon!" Fujiko could barely contain any of her excitement. She'd never felt so relieved and happy to hear the samurai's voice before. "God you have to come help me!"

"Help?" Came the samurai's confused response. "Help with what?" His tone came off as slightly wary, as if he felt like this was a plan to betray him. Fujiko did her best to not feel offended at that idea, which turned out to be remarkably easy thanks to her current situation. 

"Are you serious? Those crazy people have me trapped somewhere!" Fujiko huffed. 

The line was silent for a moment. The woman was stunned for a second at the lack of response from the man. She tried not to sigh. 

"Goemon, do you even have any idea of what's happening here?" 

"No." Came his quick response.

"People are eating eachother like some kind of... zombies! Please, hurry up and help me out of here!" Fujiko said with a small hiss, trying to stay as quiet as possible when she realized the banging on the windows and door of the hotel room was getting louder, almost as if more people had joined in. 

"Where are you?" Goemon's voice was still it's usual deep monotone, but Fujiko swore she could almost hear some kind of... fear? Concern? Something in his voice. 

"Some cheap motel on the edge of town. I don't know the name, it has a green roof, Goemon, please!" A strange noise came from the room outside of the closet, and Fujiko closed her eyes tightly once more, lowering her voice. "I don't know how long I can hide in here. Please, Goemon, help." 

"I'm coming." Was the man's simple reply before the line clicked dead without another word. 

Fujiko sighed, cowering as far away from the closet door as she possibly could, which really wasn't much all things considered. The noises continued, frenzied beating on every inch of the outside wall. Each thumping hit made her involuntarily flinch. She'd seen what these things did to the people before, and she wasn't interested in it happening to her. 

"They won't get in." Fujiko desperately tried to convince herself, sliding down the closet wall slowly until she was sitting down on the disguting carpeted floor. She looked at the phone in her hand, watching the clock intensely. Timing Goemon, trying to figure out how long until he'd come to her aid, doing anything in a desperate attempt to distract herself from all of the noise. The moaning. The banging. The sound of fingernails dragging along the glass of the windows and the wood of the door. She was terrified, unused to feeling so alone and seperated. Even when she was in a situation where she was held captive, even when she was kidnapped, the fear of sitting alone like this was completely different. There was no one to trick, no one to bargain with. 

For the first time in a long time, Fujiko Mine felt as if she was truly alone. Even with the knowledge help was most likely on it's way she felt seperated from everyone. 

Fujiko's hand tightened on the phone in her hand as she heard the unmistakable sound of a glass window shattering.

"Please, hurry." Fujiko begged no one, eyes shut so tight she saw stars. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes, and she held her breath as the noises of the people moaning outside became less muffled. 

They were finally making their way in.


	3. Chapter 3

Goemon had to admit, he had never quite been the type to know what was going on in the world. Usually he was content with being completely one hundred percent seperated from society and all it's little trivial activities. Typically if he knew anything happening in the world it was because he'd been told about it by one of the other people in the gang, or maybe from overhearing something on the news when someone else was watching it. In manners of current events, Goemon Ishikawa was never up to date. It was just how he chose to live his life, mostly. He felt as if he had much better things to do, generally speaking. He didn't need to hear about random things happening in random places, unless of course it affected him directly.

That's why when he received Fujiko's call he was intially confused and unaware. Even when something like that was happening so close he had no idea it was going on because, to be blunt, he was pretty oblivious to everything while training. The fact he had answered Fujiko's call at all was a rare miracle since he was usually meditating and blocking out the world around him. She'd only been lucky because he had just decided to move which made for a short break from his detatchment. All in all, her timing had been perfect. 

And so Goemon found himself deserting his training once more, making his way through the sparse forest surrounding the town of Hiraizumi. He had a brief moment of wondering if, maybe, he should call Lupin and tell him the situation, but quickly dismissed it. Fujiko would probably do that herself if she hadn't done it already. Either way there was no doubt in his mind that Lupin would somehow manage to hear the news, since his knowledge was probably one of his only strong suits. If he hadn't already found out maybe once Goemon was sure Fujiko was safe he would call the thief, but right now more important matters at hand. 

Like, for instance, who was that weird man just standing there next to some tree smeared with blood?

"Excuse me, sir." Goemon attempted to get the strange man's attention. He took note of how... odd the man seemed to be acting, even if he'd only been observing the man for a few seconds. "Are you hurt?" 

The man didn't respond, but instead let out a strangle and gurgled groan, staggering as he turned himself to find where that voice was coming from. 

Goemon's gaze hardened as the man began to stumble in his direction. "Don't come any closer." The samurai warned, hand going to his sword almost instinctively. 

The man staggered forward, moaning in a low tone as he hobbled towards the samurai.

"Stop." Goemon warned again, hand tightening on the handle of his sword. "Come closer and I'll have no choice but to cut you down right there."

Once again the man did not speak, just shuffled closer to Goemon like some kind of mindless creature. Goemon frowned at this reaction, slightly confused by the fact this stranger didn't seem to be taking him seriously in any way. Did this man not believe him? Or maybe he didn't understand what he was saying, although he felt this was unlikely. Perhaps he was deaf or so hurt he wasn't thinking clearly? A million different kinds of excuses ran through the sword man's mind, wondering why or how this man would be so willing to risk his life.

Goemon furrowed his brows in confusion and misunderstanding. "Are you hurt?" He asked, eyes scanning the man for the source of the blood smeared across his body. "Do you need help?" His voice did not mirror the slight concern he was feeling. His hand came off of the sword hesitantly, and watched the man shamble forwards towards him. Goemon stepped forward, although did it with a slight amount of uncertainty evident in his movement. He was never eager to kill anyone, especially a random civilian, but Fujiko's distressed call had him on edge. A terrible quality for a warrior, Goemon thought to himself bitterly.

The man groaned, a low and breathy sound that reminded Goemon of an animal in pain or distress. Ah, so he must be hurt after all, Goemon thought to himself. The unfamiliar hesitation drained from him completely, and he stepped closer to the strange man with much more certainty.

"Allow me to help you." The samurai offered, hand extended to the moaning man. Suddenly, the man darted forward in a speed he had not shown before. He let out an odd sort of roaring groan as he pounced with his arms outstretched towards the samurai.

Goemon let out a noise of shocked surprise, tumbling backwards as the man jumped on him. Usually he wouldn't have been this careless, but he had foolishly let his guard done for only just a moment and allowed this to happen. It was a lesson on why he still had lots of training left to do, but that was a subject he'd have to lament on at a later date when there wasn't a stranger biting at the air in front of his face in such a frenzied manner. 

"I offered you help." Goemon grunted, holding the mans head back with a hand around his throat. The samurai groped for his sword with his spare hand, although found it was difficult to reach with someone on top of him like this. It was a less than ideal situation to be in, but if his years of hardwork taught him anything it was that most things in life weren't ideal, and part of Goemon saw this as a further opportunity to train. 

The man on top of Goemon growled, groaned, and screamed, spit and blood alike flying from his open maw and splattering across the samurai's face and neck. His teeth gnashed in the open air as he tried desperately to get any of Goemon's flesh into his eagerly awaiting mouth. This must have been exactly what Fujiko wanted to be rescued from, Goemon thought with a grimace. He would make sure none of the others caught him off guard, and make sure he got her to safety. Goemon would never be able to forgive himself if he couldn't save her, so getting any sort of injury here was just not an option. He'd save her. 

Finally, his fingers wrapped around the handle for his zantetsu sword. He tugged harsly on the wood, immediately freeing the metal sword from its sheath. The thought of how odd it would be to cut the man ontop of him didn't even cross Goemon's mind as he awkwardly thrust the sword into and through the man's chest, quickly jerking it out again in one swift motion. The man, however, did not fall. He didn't pause in his desperate attempts to eat the man below him. The injury caused no waivering in him at all, and had it not been for the blood staining his kimono Goemon would doubt he had even hit the man at all. 

"What..." Goemon hissed, his brows furrowed again as he stared at the new hole in the man's chest and clothes, blood dripping from it in an unusually slow manner. The samurai frowned up at the man's face, not understanding how he could continue to gnaw at nothing with such energy. His grip on the sword tightened. Fine, if that didn't do anything he would try again and again until he was free, until he was sure Fujiko was safe. 

Goemon's grip on the man's neck tightened as he suddenly threw the frenzied stranger off of him and to the side before quickly rolling in the opposite direction to get just a little more distance between them. He hopped to his feet, staring down at the man who had just attacked him and watched as he crawled forward. 

"You are not a worthless object," Goemon's gaze hardened. "but I cannot let you stand in my way." 

With a swift motion, Goemon brought his sword down directly into the man's head with a disgustig squelch of a noise. The little resistance his head had given him was no match for the zantetsu sword, and Goemon realized the man had stopped moving. He found it a little odd that this stopped the monster, but a sword to the torso didn't. This made no difference to him however, so he tugged his sword free and walked over to its discarded sheath. 

"To the hotel then." Goemon muttered to himself softly, before he began to notice there was sounds coming from all around him. He frowned at first, not able to tell just what it was exactly.

That was until he realized the sound was a groaning very familiar to what he had just heard, and Goemon's eyes widened in slight horror. Maybe he'd have a harder time reaching Fujiko than he had initially thought, although he was confident in his abilities enough that this would be no danger as long as he kept his head level and his attention on high alert. 

Hopefully.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why are we going through all of this again?" Jigen moaned in annoyance, shoving his spent cigarette into the already over crowded as hell ashtray in the fiat. 

Lupin sighed, head resting against the steering wheel of the yellow vehicle. "How many times are we going to have this conversation?"

"Until I understand why I let you talk me into this shit." 

The sound of traffic surrounded the thief's compact car, people honking and leaning out their windows to yell profanities in response to this minor inconvenience. 

"That means we won't ever stop talking about it." Lupin said, sitting up straight in his seat once more. 

"Kinda the point, yeah." Jigen frowned, lighting another cigarette to continue his never ending chain smoke. Lupin however had a similar idea as he reached over and plucked the cancer stick right out from Jigen's lips, placing it in his own mouth. The gunman only responded with a snort.

"God, what a terrible time for traffic. We could have probably walked all the way to Hiraizumi by the time it clears up!" 

"Probably what all these other saps are thinking too." Jigen mused. 

Lupin raised an eyebrow. "What, you think we're all going there?" 

A shrug. "Why else would there be so many people in a rush in the middle of a Sunday?" 

"Maybe they all want to go to church." Lupin said. 

"Or maybe they all want to go see the start of some world ending catastophe." The gunman was exaggerating slightly, though with the way the news talked about it it might as well have been the truth. 

"Christ I hope that means there won't be this much traffic all the way there. Fujiko could be in trouble for all we know!" 

"Yeah, and for all we know she could be getting a boob job too." Jigen said, earning a glare from the thief.

"Take that back! Fujiko is all natural!" Lupin hissed at his partner. 

Jigen shrugs with a large grin. "I'm not so sure about that. No one gets a rack like that without a little help." 

"I'll throw you out of this car." 

"Sounds great to me, I can go back to the hotel and watch all the western movies I want without you bugging me. I didn't want to tag along to begin with, remember?" Jigen props his feet up on the dashboard, leaning back in his seat as much as possible without adjusting it any further. 

Lupin frowns. "Why do I put up with you?" 

"Because I'm the best." The gunman grins, pulling his hat down his eyes further. 

"The best what? Not the best friend that's for sure." Lupin sniffs. 

"The best you'll ever get, that's for damn sure." 

"Maybe I should buy a dog instead. A nice dalmation, maybe?" Lupin teases the other man, but doesn't get much of a response out of him in the way that he was looking for. 

"Oh, a new bitch? Would you name it after Fujiko?" 

"Funny, I was actually thinking of naming it after you." 

Jigen huffs at that comment, but a grin remains firmly on his face. "Hey, traffics moving." He points out, though the observation seemed useless given the fact that Lupin was already moving the car forward. 

Thankfully the traffic moving seemed to calm down everyones nerves since the yelling curses and honking was silent for a moment, although the sound was quickly replaced with screaming. 

"What the hell was that?" Lupin asked, trying to see where the sound was coming from. 

"Eh, probably some kids pulling a dumb prank." Jigen said, although he was moving to sit up in curiosity. 

"Hey, what's going on up there?" Lupin squinted, trying to see the apparent commotion up the road from where their car sat. 

"What?" Jigen mumbled, joining the thief in trying to figure out exactly what was happening in front of them. 

People up ahead were screaming, more and more seeming to jump out of their cars and break into sprints to get away from... something. 

"Just looks like a bunch of assholes playing tag." Jigen noted with a frown, leaning forward more.

Lupin continues to stare hard at the scene unfolding in front of him. Suddenly, his eyes widen as he realizes exactly what it is that's going on. "Shit, Jigen, we gotta get out of here."

"What?" The gunman turns his attention to the thief, mouth turned downward in a frown of confusion. "What's happening." 

"Shut up, we gotta get out."

"Lupin, Jesus man, what's the problem?" Jigen watches in annoyed confusion as Lupin unbuckles himself in a frenzy.

"Are you blind? It's attackers like in Hiraizumi. Come on, stupid!" Lupin's tone is uncharacteristcally harsh and panicked as he opens the car door, gesturing wildly for the gunman to follow his lead. 

Jigen curses under his breath and hops out of the car, following Lupin's run back the way they came. "Are you sure about this?" He calls out to the thief. "What about the car?"

"Screw the car, the roads completely blocked anyway. We just gotta go, hurry your ass up!" Lupin shouts back at his partner. 

Jigen frowns, unhappy with the situation and his partners attitude, but he knows the thief is right. The other man's valid point kept him from speaking up, instead opting to sprint behind his partner in crime. 

"I thought this was only in Hiraizumi!" Lupin shouted in annoyance, squeezing and running inbetween the cars filling up the highway. The further back they reached the more people they saw still sitting in their vehicles, reactions to seeing the running men something between and complete confusion. Surprisingly, some of the people who saw this even opted to run themselves, not bothering to wait and see exactly why it was they were fleeing. 

"Looks like it spread pretty quick." Jigen grunted, not far behind the thief. 

"They better figure out what's going on quick before these crazies are everywhere in Japan!" 

Jigen snorts in response, squeezing between two large trucks used for shipping. "On the brightside, at least this place is an island so it won't spread that far if we all die."

Lupin frowned, turning his head to glare at his companion. "That's not helping!" 

Jigen chuckles, hand holding his hat to his head to keep it in place. "Just staying optimistic." 

Lupin groaned, ready to prepare a retort before being cut off by someone falling out of their car in front of him. The thief let out a small noise of shock as he watched a man rip out another person's neck with his bare teeth. 

"Holy shit- Jigen, turn around!" 

"Don't think that's a good idea." Jigen grunts, and Lupin frowns at a sight similar to the one he had just witnessed in the opposite direction a few seconds prior. 

"That's-" Lupin's gaze hardened before deciding to grab Jigen's hand, practically dragging the man along with him as he decided to turn to the right and off of the road entirely.

The screams of people on the highway just continued to get louder and louder as more people realized what was happening, or getting attacked. Whatever happened to them first. The sounds were unnerving to say the least, some people screaming for help, others calling out names of a loved one. The groaning from the attackers carried in the wind just as much as the cries from their victims, filling the air with a symphony of pain and fear perfectly at home in a horror movie, but not here in real life on a filled road. 

The grass the two men ran through was ankle high, unkempt and full of God knows what kind of animals or bugs. The fear of creepy crawlies was overshadowed heavily by the things practically surrounding them, and Lupin's grip on Jigen's wrist only tightened as the sped up. 

"We can't keep running." The gun man grunts, voice reflecting how close he was to being out of breath. 

"Really? You run from the cops on a regular basis and you can't do this?" Lupin's tone was mocking, but he was feeling almost as tired as his companion.

"We should get a car."

"In this traffic? We'd never get anywhere. That's why we left our car, remember?" Lupin said in response, brows furrowed. 

"The other side of the road, idiot. It's pretty clear." Jigen bites back.

Lupin doesn't slow his pace as he looks to the other side of the road. It was true, that side had minimal people on it and no traffic at all, but even with that information there was a huge problem. 

" I'm not robbing some working stiff so we can drive off in their car." Especially not with things like this, Lupin thought to himself as the sound of screams continued to fill the air. The rabid attackers weren't far behind them, and Lupin had no intention to leave some innocent people to deal with this situation themselves. Especially when they'd most likely be left completely unarmed with no way to defend themself, unlike Lupin and Jigen with their guns and experience in violent situations (something a common business man wouldn't have much knowledge on or personal experience with). 

"Get a big vehicle, we could just drive across. We've done stupider things. As long as it's in the outside lane we shouldn't struggle too much." 

"I'm not robbing anyone, Jigen. Not here." Lupin answered firmly, pulling his hand off of the other man's.

"An abandoned car." Jigen offered. 

There wasn't a shortage of abandoned vehicles on this stretch of the road by any means, hell most of the cars they'd past at this point seemed to be empty now, but the thought that they might return left Lupin a little uneasy. The thief had a strict code of morals, and while someone on the outside looking in wouldn't expect that of a criminal he took them very seriously. No stealing from poor people. No killing anyone (unless they really deserved it). These weren't rules he would be very willing or eager to abandon, but sometimes it was the only option. 

"Okay. Something big. Needs to have the keys left in it though." The man in the red jacket finally gave in. "I'm gonna hate myself in the morning..." He mumbled to himself. 

"You can only hate yourself if you're still alive in the morning." Jigen said, jogging over to a nearby semi-truck. 

Lupin rolled his eyes at his partners comment, but didn't say anything about it. It was true, in an obvious kind of way. Dead people don't feel, afterall so it wasn't like there was any sort of clever retort to be had about that comment, as much as Lupin wanted to make one right about now. 

 

Jigen pulled open the door to the large truck's cab, stepping up into the driver's side of it with a small whistle. 

"Hey Lupin, good news." The gun man called down to the thief. "The keys are in the ignition and everything, now we can get the Hell out of here." 

Lupin grinned up at his partner. "Good. Move over." He stepped up on the truck and stared at Jigen. 

"What?" 

"Move over." Lupin repeated himself which caused Jigen to frown and slide over to the passenger side to make room for the thief in the drivers seat. The gunman gently mumbled under his breath, complaining about being told to move when it was his idea to get in a car in the first place. Hell, he'd even picked out this truck! Being the side kick could really suck sometimes. Sure, you may get to run away and no one would care because you're an add on, and that's just one of the perks, but it sure would be nice to get some kind of recognition. Or to just be able to drive huge trucks. Whichever was easier worked just fine in Jigen's opinion, to be completely honest. 

"Alright, so, guess we're gonna get to the other road and drive against traffic?" Lupin thought to himself outloud, putting the large truck in the right gear to drive off. Jigen frowns. 

"We're still gonna go that way? Even after you see all this?" Jigen gestures out the window and directs Lupin's attention to the grisly scene of some poor woman being torn apart by a group of twelve angry men. 

The thief grimaces at the sight, but nods anyway. "Hell, now I'm more determined to save Fujiko after seeing these things. Now I know she's probably in real trouble if she's really in Hiraizumi! I bet since these things are so awful I'll get double the reward." Lupin grins in the goofy manner he always does when thinking of Fujiko, and Jigen's frown of distaste only grows in size. 

"You're really something, you know that?" He grumbles as the truck drives off road with little to no problem. 

The thief in the red jacket grins. "That's why everyone loves me!" This bout of over confidence causes anorher groan to erupt from the gun man in exasperation and somewhat amusement. It figures the cocky man would respond with something like that, and he had only wished he had seen it coming. 

"Yeah, sure, if thats what you want to think." The bearded man said with a roll of his eyes. Lupin grinned back at him. 

"I don't just think it, it's true." Suddenly a more serious expression crossed the man's face. "But we can talk about the details of everyones love for me once we get out of here." 

"Seconded." Jigen agreed.


End file.
